Suicide prevention training to be held Sept. 10

Many among us have been touched by the tragedy of suicide, and in the age of social media, many more of us have heard or seen behavior from family, friends or even total strangers that gives us pause.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, almost 45,000 people choose to end their lives each year; what’s more, for every suicide there are 25 unsuccessful suicide attempts. Roughly 1.3 out of every 10,000 people will kill themselves each year — it’s the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and is likely the most preventable.

“My favorite story involves a young lady at Erwin High School several years ago when I was doing prevention work there,” said Bob Cummings, certified QPR peer suicide prevention trainer. “I was in Minnesota at the Hazelden Institute getting trained in another program, and I got a text about two o’clock in the morning, saying, ‘Mr. Bob, I’m thinking about killing myself.’”